by Golden Girl 36 Replies latest jw friends
We're almost the same age!...
You born in August?
I had relatives in NY they just moved to Missouri..They were about an hour from the Watchtower farm...
Did you know anyone there?
You can E Mail me if you want to be private...
Snoozy..aka..Golden Girl
BlueBlades: While there are certainly problems with whole situation and doctrine of the Anointed, I just wanted to point out another alternative to you other than the "replacement theory" that explains the INCREASE in anointed numbers and which doesn't conflict with idea that the number is sealed (as of 1935). One possible explanation is the penetration of Jehovah's Witnesses into relatively new "areas" such as Eastern Europe. It is possible that a few persons who are newly learning the Truth are of the anointed class and have only now had the opportunity to associate with Witnesses who previously were not able or simply had not yet come into the area in which they live. Their expression of their belief in being part of the heavenly elect by partaking at the Memorial would result in an increase to the overall number tallied. Thus it is possible that someone could be a "new partaker" but not a replacement or person who had been in association and who is only newly claiming to be anointed. Rather the person is and always has been part of the anointed, only they had not yet been able to express their heavenly hope or even associate with Jehovah's Witnesses due to external circumstances such as persecution or ban of the Witnesses in their country. (Note I am not saying this is the case, only giving a reasonable alternative explanation.) -Eduardo
Correct me if I'm wrong..(I usually am) I thought they were all picked in 1914?
Anyone after that time would be replacements..
I never did keep up on that subject..didn't think it concerned me at the time..
As I wasn't one of them...
Snoozy...
Golden Girl,
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the "anointed class" of 144,000 persons (from Pentecost 44 CE to present day) was for all intents and purposes sealed as of the year 1935. In that year, the emphasis of the "harvest work" turned from the gathering of the heavenly elect to the ingathering of the "Jonadabs" (Great Crowd).
Traditionally, the teaching has been that some of the anointed (a "sizable" number) would STILL BE ALIVE at the onset of the Great Tribulation/Armageddon and actually pass through.
This belief is based on the scripture which says that "those days will be cut short for the sake of the Holy Ones."
Although I saw one comment in this thread that may suggest otherwise, I have not seen "officially" that the Society has revised or modified this view although it is only very rarely referenced in talks or publications.
Like the "Last Generation Doctrine" (discarded in 1995), this belief represents what I call "The Last Biological Clock Among Jehovah's Witnesses" and it presents a big problem to the Society as it clearly sets up the ticking clock for Armageddon to come before the approx. 8,000 anointed die from old age.
We can expect that something will have to give regarding this doctrine within the next 10 years or so.
The "Replacement theory" (which actually began as early as Russell's day and which he himself espoused) posits that some of the "bride" will cast away their "white robes" and fail to remain faithful. Since the 144,000 number is viewed by JWs as an actual number, there must be some replacements for these fallen ones.
Modernly, Jehovah's Witness use the above explanation to justify why some (often younger) persons sometimes suddenly claim to be anointed when they did not before.
-Eduardo
Thank you Eduardo, I'll have to do some more research on that. Wish I hadn't thrown all hubby's books away now...
Just have to do it on the internet...
Thank again..Snoozy..aka..Golden Girl..
How does someone know if they're one of the "Remnant"? Any nutjob could claim to be one (not that I believe in that JW-exclusive nonsense anyway).
Sonnyboy that's precisely my question, why does God choose those annointed what did they do in their lives to be so favoured what are the criteria to become annointed?
Or are people chosen totally at random?
